Reddy Makes Salads

Home Service Department, Canadian Utilities Limited - [1950s?]

The aptly named Dianne Watt, Director of the Home Service Department of Canadian Utilities Limited, had a useful mascot in “Reddy,” the helpful bulb-nosed electricity representative who also graced Calgary Power’s advertising (see, for example, Festive Favorites). Many utility companies had home service departments to encourage women to be more comfortable using the “Magic Servant,” electricity. This book follows the not-uncommon practice of acknowledging the real figures behind companies’ public personas, balancing consistency of character with the authority of the real home-service educator. The “Low Calorie” dressing recipe reflects a trend of the period, while the electrical appliances advertised throughout illustrate electricity’s potential uses to the reluctant housewife (or perhaps her reluctant husband). Though this book is undated, several copies selling online are dated 1953; this book is likely from that period.